Hiding in Plain Sight

The Secret Life of Raymond Burr

The complete story of the actor's career, including his secret gay life. Raymond Burr (1917-1993) was an enigma. A film noir regularly known for his villainous roles in movies like Rear Window, he eventually became one of the most popular stars in television history. He has delighted millions of viewers each week with the top-rated shows Perry Mason and Ironside, which ran virtually uniterrupted for 20 years. As crusading lawyer Perry Mason, he never lost a case in TV's first one-hour crime drama. And as the gruff, wheelchair-bound cop Robert T. Ironside, he always got his man in the first TV series to feature a handicapped protagonist. But Burr was leading a secret gay life at a time in Hollywood when such a lifestyle was akin to career suicide. He invented a tragic biography for himself in which he was mythologized as a heartbroken husband and father. There was even an invented affair with a teenage Natalie Wood, 21 years his junior. He fought for truth as Perry Mason and Robert T. Ironside, yet he couldn't admit his own deception. Burr met his partner, struggling actor Robert Benevides, on the set of Perry Mason, and they remained together for over 35 years until Burr's death. Together, they built a business empire, traveled the world, and shared their passion for orchids and fine wine - keeping the true nature of their relationship a secret from all but their closest friends - a secret revealed here for the first time in depth.

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I'm a huge Raymond Burr fan. He was a very private person, so I was hoping I'd learn something of his life. The book is so thin physically and on content. I only gave 2 stars because there were quite a few pictures I had never seen.

This book is great if you already have a willingness to learn about a gay person's thoughts in a time of non-acceptance. He is candid but not lurid. It underscores the special circumstance of an actor who was even more successful than anyone realized.